Shank brace



Jan. 22, 1952 L. WEINSTEIN SHANK BRACE Filed March 18, 1948 FIG.

- lNvr-:Non

LEON WElNsTEIN WW ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 22, 1952 SHANK BRACE Leon Weinstein, St. Louis, Mo.

Application March 18, 1948, Serial No. 15,611 5 claims.- (o1. 36-76l This invention relates ingeneral to certain new and useful improvements in shank braces for womens shoes.

As is Well known in the shoe repairing trade,v womens high heeled slippers are relatively thin' and structurally weak in the region of the shank and frequently after the shoe has been worn the connection between the heel seat and the heel of the shoe becomes loosened and insecure. Heretofore, various types of L-shaped plates made of metal and other relatively rigid materials have been tacked on the underside of the shoe to re pair weakened or broken shanks, but such expedients have been heavy, cumbersome, and ineffective. The chief diiiculty with such L-shaped plates has been that the angle between the breast of the heel and the under face of the shank of the shoe vary widely depending upon the style and make of the shoe so that it is virtuallyimpossible to secure a precise t between the L- shaped shank brace and the shoe unless the shank brace has been modeled to fit the particular shoe to which it is being applied. Obviously, shoe repair men cannot maintain an extensive stock of different kinds of shank braces to meet the occasional emergency involved. Consequently, the shoe repair man either fits the shank improperly on the shoe or hammers it roughly into an approximately correct shape and in so doing usubrace no longer has any great degree of strength.

Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a new and unique type of shank stiffener or shank brace for use in connection with womens shoes, `which is;extr emely simple in construction and can be quickly and cheaply manufactured.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shank stiffener or shank brace for womens shoes which can be quickly and effectively applied to the shoe and can be readily and simply fitted to almost any type or design of shoe so as to be virtually universal in its applicability.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shank brace or stiifener of the type stated which is small and compact in size and, at the same time, is exceptionally strong and rigid and, moreover, is relatively unobtrusive in appearance.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form,l construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

ally distorts the metal to such an extent that the Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ladies shoe equipped with a shank brace constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the heel section ofthe shoe shown in Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4 are fragmentary transverse sectional views of the combined shoe and shank brace taken along lines 3 3 and 4--4, respectively, of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a ladies shoe equipped with a modified form of shank brace constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the heel portion of the shoe shown in Figure 5.

Referring now in more detail, and by reference characters to the drawing, which illustrates practical embodiments of the present invention, A designates a ladies shoe having a so-called cuban or military heel I which is securely fastened upon the heel portion of the outsole, as at 2, adjacent to the conventional shank 3.

formation of somewhat sharpened `prongs 1,1', for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Along its sides, the plate 4 is integrally` provided with outwardly extending, bent-over attachment flanges 8, 3' and the plate 5 is similarly provided with outwardly extending attachment flanges 9, 9', the iianges 8, 8', 9, 9', being each provided with a plurality of small spaced apertures for receiving tacks t by which the shank brace B is secured in place.

ln applying the shank brace B, the shoe repair man may very simply bend the plates 4, 5, toward or away from each other to increase or ydecrease the dihedral angle therebetween so that the relative angular relationships between the flanges S, 8', and 9, 9', respectively, will conform fairly accurately to the dihedral angle between the breast of the heel I and the under face 3. The flanges 8, 8', 9, 9', may then be readily bent up or down slightly to fit flush against the surfaces of the breast of the heel I and the under l3 face of the shank 3, as the case may be. This latter bending operation actually is usually unnecessary because the force of driving the tacks t into place is ordinarily suiiicient to draw the flanges down into tight hush abutment. It should be noted in this connection that because of the particular geometrical coniiguration of the shank brace B such adjustments will not be necessary for the average type of shoe and will, in substantially all cases, be relatively minor in degree. When the shank brace has been fitted to the shoe A, it may be manually set in place and tapped lightly with a hammer along the` edges of the connecting web or corrugation driving the prongs l, l', respectively', into the breast of the heel I and the under face of the shank 3 so that the shank brace B thereby be comes firmly and immovably seated or held in place and will not slip around or shift its position while subsequent work is being done. tacks t are then driven into the heel land shank 3. respectively, as best seen in Figure 2, securing the shank brace B tightly and permanently in place.

Ii' desired, a modiiied form of shank brace B' may be provided which is substantially similar to the previously described shank brace B consisting of angularly disposed plates 4', 5', connected by a V-.shaped web or corrugation B'. VThe plates 4', 5', however, are rounded oi at their apices, as at i0, to fit snugly within the arcuate curve between the breast of the heel l' and the shank 3 of a sorcalled high-,heeled shoe A.

It should be understood that changes and modiflcations in the form, construction, arrangef ment, and combination of the several parts of the shank bracemay be made and substituted fort-,hose herein shown and described Without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A shank brace comprising a pair of plate members bendably connected along an edge and angularly disposed to each other, each of said members being provided at opposite ends of their connecting edge with prong-forming portions, and being further provided along their free margins with outwardly extending anges.

2. A shank brace comprising a pair of triangular plate members bendably connected along an edge and angularly disposed to each other, each of said members being provided at opposite ends of their connecting edge with prongeforming portions, and being further provided along their free margins with outwardly extending flanges.

The

3. A shank brace comprising a pair of plate members-bendably connected along an edge and angularly disposed to each other, each of said members being provided at opposite ends of their connecting edge with prong-forming portions, and being further provided along their free margins with outwardly extending iianges, said plates being rounded oi at their outer free margins for approximately fitting the arcuate curve between the heel breast and shank of a ladies high-heeled shoe.

4. A shank brace comprising a pair of plate members disposed angularly to each other and being connected along one margin by an intermediate Web of inwardly disposed V-shaped cross section, each of said members being provided .at the opposite ends of their connecting margins with prong-forming portions, one pair of said prong-forming portions being designed to be driven into the heel breast of a ladys high heel .shoe and the other pair of prong-forming portions being designed to be driven into the shank of a ladys high heel shoe, each of said pairs of prong-forming portions being equidistant from the center line of the shank and heel breast.

5. A shank brace comprising a pair of triangular plate members disposed angularly in spaced relation to each other, said plate members being connected along one margin by an intermediate web of inwardly disposed V-shaped cross section, each of said plate members being provided at the opposite ends of their connection margin with prong-forming portions, one pair of said prong-forming portions being adapted to be driven into the heel breast of a ladys high heel shoe along opposite sides of the center line o'f the heel breast, the other pair of prong-forming portions being adapted to be driven into the shank of the shoe along opposite sides of the center line thereof, said plate members being provided along their free margins with outwardly extending perforated iianges for securing same to the heel breast and shank outwardly of the prong forming portions.

LEON WEINS'IEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

